Helping veteran-owned firms get their share of government contracts

Should veteran-owned enterprises be optimistic as we head into 2017? “Yes, 2017 should be a great year for government contracts for veteran-owned businesses and veteran-owned small businesses (VOBs and VOSBs),” says Matthew Pavelek, vice president of membership at the National Veteran-Owned Business Association (NaVOBA). His organization’s mission is to create opportunities for all of America’s veteran-owned businesses. The association’s members include both VOBs and corporations.

Pavelek says the June 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. vs. United States was positive news for VOBs. The Supreme Court decided that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs must set aside more contracts to be filled by veteran-owned small businesses.

The court unanimously decided that the department has not fulfilled its obligation to steer more business to small companies owned by veterans or service-disabled veterans simply by meeting its annual contract targets. The decision, say experts, is likely to assist more VOBs compete for the billions of dollars in contracts that the VA awards.